What is this thing?

[PJH]

Wife inherited her dad's little farm. We moved here in '87. I've moved this thing from one building to another for 35 years. Yesterday I moved it again. It appears to have a common double bit axe handle.

 

[Phil Tibbetts]

Never seen one but looks like it might be used to move logs or timbers.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Looks like somebody cut whatever was on the double pronged end off and welded those 2 prongs on. Maybe to use for weeding around plants when smaller by straddling them or picking around them with the single side. or ditching in the garden for water runs.

 

[MarkB_MI]

The way the head is attached to the handle is quite unusual. It's bolted on, and there's a metal collar around the handle. That leads me to believe it was used in a way that would be likely to break a regular handle. (For example, if you miss a log with an axe or maul and strike it with the handle, the head is going to snap right off.)

 

[tomturkey]

For digging in rocky ground, I could of used it a time or two, a long time ago. gobble

 

[Steve@Advance]

Whatever it is would make a good Halloween costume addition!

 

[flembo]

I am thinking home made by some one with some Blacksmithing skills and used for a specific job.

 

[rustred]

looks like a gold mining tool them prospectors where using in Australia

 

[Janicholson]

My Grand father would call it a Grubbing Pick. Getting surface roots out of soil or modest rocks. Jim

 

[Billy Shafer]

Same here. Very useful.

 

[Loosehandle]

In case of zombie attack...

 

[David Snipes]

I could see using it to break ice on a water trough and pull the pieces off with the fork.

 

[unc]

The pick end looks like a coal miner's pick. Any chance it came from a coal mine? unc